Too Late For Tonight – Drive Time

Central North Carolina-based bluegrass band Drive Time has released a new project, Too Late For Tonight. Drive Time is comprised of Tyler Jackson on banjo, Austyn Howell on guitar, Austin Koerner on mandolin, Katie Koerner on fiddle, and Bailey Coe on guitar. The album includes Grayson Tuttle on bass, who has since left the group to better focus on his personal and professional life.

The album features 12 numbers, two of which are originals written by band members. Please Understand penned by Katie and Rum Running Queen by Tyler.

Jackson, who suffered a brain aneurysm in 2020 at the age of 24, demonstrates that he’s back in the groove with fast fingers and tasteful licks.

Just Get Up and Go is a heartbreak tune featuring Coe on lead vocals and hard-driving instrumentation by the band, shared the Drive Time banjoist.

“This is by far one of my favorite tracks on the whole album. This is a song Mountain Heart recorded a few years ago written by Josh Shilling and Jon Weisberger. Jason Moore told us back in 2021 we should do this song and I’m so proud to have it on this record!”

The second cut on the album features a familiar song sung by Katie.

She elaborated, “Snowbird was written by Gene MacLellan, and has been recorded by artists such as Anne Murray, Elvis, Loretta Lynn, and many others. It’s a well-written song about heartbreak, disguised with a happy melody. I really like our take on it. It’s one of my favorites to sing, and getting to do it with such great musicians makes it even more fun.”

Coe, who formally toured with Sideline, said of the new album, “I’ve always loved recording. It was great to get those creative juices flowing. It’s a good, solid project, playing good music with good friends.”

Coe used his graphic creativity to also design the album’s neon-lights cover.

The project also includes the first gospel recording by the group, Tedious and Tasteless, an a cappella quartet number which adds vocal parts one-at-a-time throughout the verses.

Two personal favorites are the hard-hitting tunes, In the Heat of the Night and Two Dozen Roses, led by Coe that demonstrate his vocals have returned strong and powerful.

“After leaving Sideline due to some vocal cord and throat issues, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sing full time again,” Coe had previously stated.

This song and record is proof that both Jackson and Coe have fully overcome their physical afflictions and offer powerful performances.

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About the Author

Sandy Hatley

Sandy Chrisco Hatley is a free lance writer for several NC newspapers and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. As a teenager, she picked banjo with an all girl band called the Happy Hollow String Band. Today, she plays dobro with her husband's band, the Hatley Family.